I was surprised to see how many students actually were on task during my CTs lesson. The only “off-task” behavior I witnessed was student’s zoning out a little bit but as soon as I or one of the teachers (this period is co-taught with the team’s special education teacher) would approach the student, they would return to their work. The class is arranged with two students per bench, with plenty of space between rows for my CT to walk up and down the aisles, which she does frequently. My CT rarely lectures in class and if she does it never takes up more than half of the 50 minute class period, so students are usually engaged in an actual activity and there are several transitions from one activity to another per period. During these transitional periods, as well as individual work times, it is expected that students will not be talking to each other and will remain on task.
I think the “proximity” trick works well in my CT’s class because she already has control over the room, so something as simple as moving closer to an off-task student is enough to remind them to get back to work. I also think that walking around the room is a helpful tool because it’s the only way to tell if students are “getting it” before they hand in their work. While I was very impressed by the behavior and maturity level my CT seems to bring out of these 7th grade students, again, I think their motivation is sometimes based more on not wanting to get in trouble than really being engaged in their work. Adding some of the engagement strategies in TLP to class would only help my CT’s lessons by increasing student’s intrinsic motivation and aiding their recall of topics covered in class at a later date. I also have mixed feelings about the class ‘norm’ of silence during all individual work. I think it is a great way to ensure students can concentrate and it also avoids the issues of possible cheating and elevated noise levels, but I also think that the sharing of ideas between students is crucial to their growth and development as learners. I think that if I am going to continue this norm when I take over in January, I will have to ensure that there is plenty of group and partner work involved in my lessons so students are allowed plenty of time to share with each other.
I think the “proximity” trick works well in my CT’s class because she already has control over the room, so something as simple as moving closer to an off-task student is enough to remind them to get back to work. I also think that walking around the room is a helpful tool because it’s the only way to tell if students are “getting it” before they hand in their work. While I was very impressed by the behavior and maturity level my CT seems to bring out of these 7th grade students, again, I think their motivation is sometimes based more on not wanting to get in trouble than really being engaged in their work. Adding some of the engagement strategies in TLP to class would only help my CT’s lessons by increasing student’s intrinsic motivation and aiding their recall of topics covered in class at a later date. I also have mixed feelings about the class ‘norm’ of silence during all individual work. I think it is a great way to ensure students can concentrate and it also avoids the issues of possible cheating and elevated noise levels, but I also think that the sharing of ideas between students is crucial to their growth and development as learners. I think that if I am going to continue this norm when I take over in January, I will have to ensure that there is plenty of group and partner work involved in my lessons so students are allowed plenty of time to share with each other.